Midnight Cruise
by Yusagi
Summary: Update, Ch 2! How will their nice night end? As revenge for cheating, Miaka goes out with Hotohori, but the feelings their date awakens could tear their world apart. Can Miaka suppress her budding feelings? Will Hotohori let her go a second time?
1. Bittersweet revenge

Disclaimer: Don't own FY...

AN: ah...this WAS going to be short, till I got a burst of inspiration(and switched it fro Romance/Drama to Romance/Angst)

* * *

_Midnight Cruise_

**Chapter 1: _Bittersweet Revenge_**

"_I DON'T BELIEVE IT!" _She growled, slamming her fists into the table.

"P-perhaps you misunderstood what you saw?" Chichiri said, waving for her to calm down.

A year after their final adventures in the 'book', Chichiri had appeared--a member of an acting troup that had been travelling through Japan. He had all his memories from the start, and said that Tai Yi Jin had told him as a reward fr all they had done for both worlds, and their great bond, Suzaku had allowed all the Suzaku warriors to be reborn in modern times. Though Chichiri had not lost his eyeas a child, he still often wore a mask very similar to what he had in the book, as part of his job.

The only other Warrior they'd met other than Chichiri yet was Hotohori--now a very successful executive, and presedent of some American company...Microsoft or something. Chichiri claimed he'd met Tasuki as head of a biker gang in China, and Hotohori was certain a doctor working in Africa was Mitsukake.

There were rumors of a child progedy in England, but no one had even a hint of where Nuriko was...though Miaka would place good money on the large crowd of women that chased Hotohori around the globe--the problem was, no one knew if he'd been reborn as a girl, or if he'd even bothered crossdressing otherwise.

Though Hotohori lived in the state of Washington, in America, he often visited Japan. Miaka often ended up going to Chichiri for advice, since he lived only a few blocks from her house.

"Chichiri...I _saw _the kiss!" she said, crossing her arms, and sitting down. "That was no 'dinner date', that was an 'evening date'!"

"Such subtle definition, no da." No one knew how he'd picked up that quirk again...

"Oh, what am I supposed to _do_? My fiancee is cheating on me with my best friend!"

"Maybe it was a one time thing?" He suggested, "You know Taka can't hold his wine, no da."

"No...he's been sneaking off for weeks!" She sobbed, "And _no_, there's absolutely nothing even _remotely_ special coming up! I've triple checked every calandar!"

"Well..." He said, worried she might start to get hysterical. "If he truly _is _cheating on you with your best friend, perhaps you should do the same, no da?"

"Go out with _Keisuke_?" she said, utterly confused. "I don't even know how 'far' they've gotten..."

"Er...let me rephrase that..." He said, sweating. "First, we should only use what is verifiable--one date and a kiss...now...if Taka went out with the person that had been your _rival in love_--should you not return the favor, no da?"

_Rival in love...? AH!_

"You mean date Hotohori?"

"Better wording would be 'go on a date with', but yes, no da."

"I don't know...it sounds good, but..." She said, sighing, "Could I _really_ just _use _Hotohori like that?"

"Use?" he said, raising an eyebrow. "He is coming here Saturday, and you wanted to visit him _anyway_...why not go out for dinner as well, no da?"

"Oh...I guess...but..." she mumbled, "Wouldn't it be pointless if Taka didn't see it?"

"Leave that to me, no da!"

VVVVVVV

She was so nervous she felt certain the chattering of her teeth could be heard in Rong-Yang.

_Stop it! Like Chichiri said, this is no different from all the times I've went out with him before!_

_Except this time you plan to kiss him, don't you? _A voice taunted from the back of her mind.

"Miaka? What's wrong?"

She jumped nearly a foot in the air, and turned toward the voice. Hotohori stood aways down the sidewalk from her, dressed in his work-tuxm and a brown trench coat.

She had been standing outside his condominium building, working up the courage to buzz his room. Apparently he had not been home yet.

"Um..I...I'm just co-" she said quickly, but before she could finish, a leather trench coat was around her shoulders.

"You should dress more warmly." He chastised lightly.

"S...sorry.." She said, grinning sheepishly at him

"So..." He said with a warm smile, "Where would you like to go?"

"Oh, anywhere is fine!"

Chichiri had decided the best way was for him to establish a mental link with her, and where ever they decided to go, Chichiri would devise a plan to get Taka to go there as well, and if it seemed Taka was unfazed by their chatter, Chichiri would give the mental signal--whatever that was--and Miaka would give Hotohori a quick kiss...of course, if that didn't bother him, whoknew? Miaka might have to resort to violence.

"Ironic as it sounds...I haven't had Chinese in a lifetime..." Hotohori said, rubbing his chin. "Do you know any good Chinese restaurants around here?"

"Hm...Chinese..." She couldn't help the frown that appeared on her face.

"Are there none...?"

"No, it's not that...I was just kind of hungry for American."

"Oh. Well, of course I can get Chinese anytime." He said, shrugging. Despite the fact that he tried to hide it, Miaka couldn't help noticing his disappointment.

"No way!" She gasped, "I don't wanna miss your first taste of Chinese!"

He gave her a funny smile. "Whatever you say, Miaka."

"How about Tin Tin Buffet?" She said, "It serves both Chinese and American food!"

"Sounds perfect."

"Great! Let's go!" Miaka chirped, grabbing his hand and skipping toward the car.

VVVVVVV

Chichiri frowned, the first part of the plan had begun...the couple was headed for a Chinese-American restaurant, the second part would likely prove more difficult...

_Alright...Tamahome's never been one for subtlety, so..._

"Hey, Tamahome...are you hungry for Chinese...or American? No da?"

"Eh?"

VVVVVVV

He smiled down at her as she scarfed down her food, making a pitiful attempt at manners.

"You know...I really do like it here."

"Why?" She asked, swallowing a pork chop whole.

"Here in Japan...everyone here so ignores my company that noone follows me around and harassas me."

"Huh? Why would owning a company be that bothersome?" She asked. "Not like you're a celebrity!"

"Miaka...don't you realize what owning Microsoft means?"

"Um...a nice house?"

He laughed heartily, "That's what I mean!"

"Huh?"

He only smiled as he picked up a piece of sweet and sour pork with chopsticks.

"So...is it as good as you remember?"

"Hardly!" He said, making a face, "But...it is true that I have only eaten the work of _royal_ cooks before."

"Except when you went out with me those few times..."

"Ah...yes...you are correct."

"Good times, eh?"

"Indeed."

"Speaking of that..." She said with a smirk."How do you deal with not being Emperor anymore?"

He gave her a mischevious smirk. "You still don't know, do you?"

"Come on, tell me!" She huffed.

"Alright..." he said, leaning forward as if to reveal a dark secret.

Eagerly, Miaka leaned close to hear, but to her surprise, he placed a chaste kiss on her forehead before leaning back in his chair, and saying with a childish smile, "I don't want to."

"_Hotohori!_" She frowned. "You are _so _not fair!"

He shrugged, "Well, you _did _lean forward..but how was I supposed to know you were already so infatuated--"

"Hotohori!" She snapped, slapping his wrist. "That ego of yours is going to get you into big trouble!"

"Yes...so my advisors tell me."

"You mean 'told'."

"Oh, right..._'consultants'._" He said, rolling his eyes. "Two words, same level of incompitence."

_"He's becoming a real pain...no da."_

_Why...is he jealous?_

_"No...he's trying to steal all the tips. No da."_

Miaka glared at her food in disgust. _I _hate _you, Taka!_

"I'm sorry, Miaka...I did not mean to offend you..." Hotohori said, catching her glare.

"Ah! No...it's just I think I ate a bad grape."

"Oh..." he sighed,"Are you alright?"

"Yeah...but come on, let's go home..."

"A-Alright..." He said, somewhat taken aback by her lack of apitite as he wrote the check.

_I'll _make _you jealous, Taka! You just wait!_

The little voice in her mind burst into tears at the thought.

VVVVVVV

"I'll kill him!" Taka growled, fighting to get past Chichiri.

"C-calm down! No da!" he insisted, "They aren't _doing _anything!"

"You saw that sneaky kiss! And he's _flirting _with her!"

"Come on, His Majesty won't steal Miaka from you, no da!"

"Maybe not 'His Majesty', but _he's _not him anymore! He's Mister Shu Gates! Richest man in the whole _freakin' _world!"

"Money has nothing to do with it!" Chichiri snapped, "Now sit and eat, no da!"

"L-look! They're leaving! We need to follow!"

"And _spy _on His Majesty?"

"We're not spying on an emperor, we're spying on a rich guy's illicit affairs! That's perfectly acceptable!"

"For the paparazzi! No da!"

"Bring a camera!"

VVVVVVV

_"I've got him to follow, don't worry, no da."_

_Where?_

_"Taxi behind you, no da."_

_Is he watching?_

_"...More or less?"_

_Good then...I'll give him something to watch!_

_"You're not actually..."_

_And I'm going to _enjoy _it, too!_

"Hotohori?" She purred, looking up at him.

"Ah, yes?"

"Thanks for tonight."

"Oh, that was--" He started, but she cut him off by planting an overly-showy kiss on his lips and holding it there. His eyes widened in surprise, then to her shock he leaned forward and deepened the kiss, pressing her against the door of the limo and ravashing her mouth.

What seemed an eternity later, he broke the kiss, and looked at her with a desperate hope glimmering in his eyes.

"You...din't do that..._last _time!" She gasped, breathless.

"Amazing what one can learn in America."

"Wait.." she said, a sneaking suspicion coming over her, " That..._ wasn't _your..."

"Of course not!" He said with a sporting smile, "I live in America after all! Why should I give you _both _my first kisses?"

She rolled her eyes, and leaned on her shoulder.

_So...is he jealous?_

_"...Oh...somewhat..."_

There was an odd tone in his voice, and that tiny voice in her mind was sobbing miserably.

"But...if it means anything to you..." He said quietly, somewhat sadly. "I _did _give you my _last _kiss as well..."

"_What!_" She gasped, " But...how?"

He shrugged. "Unlike America, Hong-Nan's rituals didn't require one to kiss."

"Why...?"

He just smiled ather, and held her tight.

Perhaps it was because her voice was wailing and mourning, or perhaps it was because she realized he must've given her his _only _kisses, but she found herself crying softly in shame.

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AN: As you can see, I use Manga words...Hong Nan is Konan fer most've ya, Rong-Yang is the Capital city, and in the manga, Hotohori's real name is Shu Xing.

I don't know if it actually shows him kissing Feng Qi(Houki) in the Hotohori Novel thingy, butA: I haven'tread it, B: I don't want my mind poisoned with such things if it did ;p and C: this IS an AU fic!


	2. Salty tears

Disclaimer: I don't own FY

AN: Eh-heh. I've been dormant for so long, now I'm struggling to make a resurfacing. Lets get this into gear.

But, my joy for writing has returned...now if only I can wipe off thisdevilish smirk on my face about this chapter...ahh...I am so evil...

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_Midnight_ _Cruise_

**Chapter 2: _Salty tears_**

"If he does not sit and buckle I must pull over!" The taxi driver chirped in a heavy accent as he glanced into the backseat with a worried frown.

"Sit down, Taka! No _da_!" Chichiri insisted, wrestling with the enraged seishi. "If you make us pull over, we'll lose them, no da!"

"I know where he lives!" Taka growled darkly. He was actually quite scary even to the monk. "I'll rip his building down with my bare hands and tear him apart!"

"Taka...lets think about this a minute! No da!" Chichiri was not sure if he was sweating more from worry or the effort of forcing the martial artist to remain seated.

"_THERE'S NOTHING TO THINK ABOUT!_" Taka roared, shoving Chichiri off himself, and glowering at the ex-monk. "He's stealing my girl! I knew he would! I'll kill him before I let him steal her!"

The taxi driver was engrossed in a silent mantra, reminding himself repeatedly that this was his last for the day, and his family needed the money, so he did not notice that the staff the monk used to thwackthe wild passenger over the head with seemed to materialize out of thin air. If the taxi-driver had his choice, he would not have noticed _anything _going on behind him.

"How dare you have no faith in Miaka!" Chichiri chided, stowing his staff away in a spare sleeve. "There is a rational explaination for this, Taka, why don't you ask her tonight? No da."

"That's if she doesn't decide to go 'home' with him!" Taka growled. A look that suggested the staff might make a reappearance made the seishi grumble noncomittedly. "Alright...fine...I'll call her when I get home."

"Maybe I should. No da." Chichiri said serenely, as if he had not just cracked his fellow warrior over the head with a magically appearing staff.

"Why? I can deal with Miaka myself..."

"This is personal to you. No da." Chichiri said simply. "I can talk to her without bias and find out the truth."

"Are you saying Miaka would lie to me?" Taka asked with a suspicious frown.

"Not exactly...but this way it will avoid a fight between you two. No da."

Taka grumbled something incoherent, then shrugged. "Alright fine..." He added a last note under his breath. "I'll just deal with Mr. Shu I-can-do-what-I-want-to-other-guy's-girls-cause-I'm-filthy-rich Gates..."

"You will _not_!"

VVVVVVVV

She thought she was being smooth in her silent crying, as he did not react to it the entire trip back. However, when the vehicle finally stopped at her apartment building, she realized she had completely misjudged his reaction.

"Why are we here?" She asked quietly, looking up at him. "Are you tired of hanging out at your place? Mine's pretty boring..."

"No..." He said quietly, shaking his head, then turned a sad smile on her. "I'm sorry, Miaka. I hoped you would be pleased, but I see I only hurt you again."

She blinked. "What are you talking about, Hotohori? You didn't hurt me..."

He closed his eyes, and sighed. "I should not have kissed you like that...or told you what I did...you are engaged to Taka, are you not? I do not want to make you betray him like that."

_Taka...? That's right...He's why I'm on this date in the first place! I almost forgot!_

"Hey, we're friends, don't worry about it!" She smiled.

He nodded and smiledthat same sad smile that made her chest ache. "Goodnight, Miaka."

She stared at him in silence a few minutes, as the cheuffer opened the door for her and waited patiently for her to leave the car. She wanted to say something to him, to wipe away the sadness in his dark eyes and bring back the tenderness that had been in them earlier that night. She cursed herself for not paying attention in Japanese class--or poetry...she just did not seem to be able to summon up the words she wanted to say.

Looking into his eyes, she did not know what it was she _wanted _to say anymore.

His smile seemed a bit strained as he spoke, and the pain she heard in his voice made her heart want to burst into tears. "The expression is 'Goodnight', Miaka...it's what friends say before leaving eachother's company in America."

She swallowed and gave him a brave smile. "Goodnight, Hotohori."

He nodded slightly, "Goodnight, Miaka...I'll be sure to call you from America in a few days."

She gasped in surprise. "You're leaving already?"

He shrugged noncommitedly, and avoided her gaze. Something about the frown his smile had faded into told her what she really wanted to do. What might clear the clouds from his eyes.

Swallowing softly, she touched his chin with one hand, and leaned up to place a small kiss on his lips. To her surprise, however, all she net with were the index fingers of his left hand.

"What's wrong? Friends kiss eachother goodbye when they're leaving the country!" She insisted, frowning at him.

"Not the way I want to kiss you." He said softly, and looked away from her into a darkened window.

"But...Hotohori..."

He glanced at her with a smile, and gave her a push out of the limo. "Goodnight Miaka."

He was still smiling that sad smile when the chueffer closed the limo door, and walked briskly around to the driver's seat. Miaka wondered with almost a cold detachment if he was still smiling that smile as the car peeled out of the driveway and sped out of sight.

_What's going on with me tonight? _She thought sadly, shaking her head, and drying the tears threatening to spill with her coat sleeve.The coat Hotohori had slung over her shoulders earlier that night. She gave a soft sob, and ran into her apartment, oblivious to the taxi that had slowed to a stop a ways down the street. _I need to talk to Chichiri!_

VVVVVVVV

"_Damn it!_" Hotohori growled, punching the wall of the limosine, and settling his face into balled fists.

Every time hetried to help her, every timehe tried to make her smile,all heever seemed to be able to do was make her cry. Was he truly that screwed up, he could not even make the most important woman in the worldsmile for him? Or was he simply beingpresumptuous that he couldthink_he _stood a chance of making a woman as perfect as she was happy?

He was Shu Gates! Richest man in the world! Women from every corner of the globe fawned over him his every waking moment, small countries would sacrifice theirentire populations for a blessing from him (alright...so only really primitive ones, but still). Yet here he was, outmatched by a co-ed college dropout!

It stung, too. It stung that he couldn'tcheat and force her tochoose himinstead, it stung that thw co-eddropout was a friend of his, so he could not even try to steal her away fairly. What stung most, was that he felt like he was being torn in half by the two sides of himself. Oneside told him to seize the moment--for Miaka to be so forward,she must be having relationship problems with Taka...he stood a chance totake her away and keep her for himself now.Yet another side of himself insisted he help themfix the problems--not just sit by and let the relationship steal away his dreams this time...but activelyseal away any hope he had of winning her.

That was assuming he had ever had a chance with Miaka in the first place. God...when had hegone from confident Emperor to insecurestock-holder?

_Somewhere between meeting the perfect woman, and watching her ripped away from me without a fight..._

He sighed_. I need to talk to Chichiri..._

VVVVVVVV

Chichiri frowned softly, it had not been easy to convince Taka not to go in after Miaka when she had run into her apartment--only when he sufficiently explained just how furious Miaka would be if she leaned Taka had been spying on her, did Taka finally give in. These days Chichiri could not thank Suzaku enough that his'new' father had been a lawyer.

He shook his head slightly. Things had not gone entirely as planned...but then heshould have known better than to think Hotohori would easily go with the idea of betraying his friend, especially when Miaka's happiness was involved. Sometimes he was too nice for his own good.

Chichiri sighed_. I'm too old for this._

With a resigned sigh, he walked determinedly toward Miaka's apartment building. Things could still be salvaged--and perhaps this was way better after all_. Perhaps my father rubbed off on me more than I thought._

**CH END**

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AN:ZOMG!A swear! Just...um...ignore it...

Annyway...

What in the world am I_ doing_?Good Question. Yeah, it was a little OOC...but I guess I sacrificed a little IC for some very heavy handed angst...but I have a plan! And IC-ness will be intact...you'll see...

-Yusagi Sombermoon


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